Conservation and development aid: an experience in Mauritania

El macizo del Tagant, en la República Islámica de Mauritania, alberga, a lo largo de una red interconectada de humedales, las últimas poblaciones de cocodrilo del desierto Crocodylus niloticus suchus), que hasta muy poco tiempo se consideraban extintas. Estas poblaciones han sido capaces de resistir la desertización del Sahara ocurrida en el Holoceno gracias a la existencia de una serie de pozas (gueltas en árabe), que se forman tras las lluvias monzónicas y que están conectadas entre sí a través de una red de cauces efímeros o permanentes que forman la Cuenca endorreica del Lago Gabou. Estos humedales, carentes de protección en la actualidad, forman además la base económica de los más de cuarenta mil habitantes del macizo, basada en la ganadería y en una precaria agricultura. Conocedor del potencial naturalístico de la zona, el Gobierno de la RIM encargó a nuestra ONG la preparación de una memoria para dar a conocer y conseguir la protección internacional de la zona en el marco de la Convención Ramsar de protección de humedales (UNESCO). El presente trabajo narra como la utilización de una especie focal, el cocodrilo del desierto, para proteger estos valiosos humedales podría ser compatible con el desarrollo de una actividad turística sostenible, basado en el turismo naturalístico y científico, que posibilite un mayor desarrollo a los habitantes del Tagant.The Tagant massive, in the Mauritanian Islamic Republic, harbours along an interconnected web of wetlands, the last populations of the desert crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus suchus), until very recently considered to be extinguished. Those populations have been able to withstand the Holocene desertization of the Sahara due to the existence of a number of ponds (gueltas in Arabic) which are formed after the monsoon summer rains and which are interconnected through a number of either transient or permanent water bodies forming the Gabou Lake Basin. These wetlands, without any protection to the moment, constitute the base of the more than forty thousands Tagant inhabitants economy, mainly based in the livestock and a poor agriculture. Aware of the important naturalistic potential of the zone, the Government of Mauritania, asked our NGO to prepare a candidature for the Ramsar wetlands Convention (UNESCO), in order to achieve its international knowledge and protection status. The present work tries to explain how the use of the desert crocodile as focal species for the protection of these important wetlands can as well serve for the local development of the region, through the implementation of a sustainable tourism activity based in the attractiveness of the Tagant’s natural heritage to scientists and naturalists

Conservación y cooperación al desarrollo: una experiencia en Mauritania

El macizo del Tagant, en la República Islámica de Mauritania, alberga, a lo largo de una red interconectada de humedales, las últimas poblaciones de cocodrilo del desierto Crocodylus niloticus suchus), que hasta muy poco tiempo se consideraban extintas. Estas poblaciones han sido capaces de resistir la desertización del Sahara ocurrida en el Holoceno gracias a la existencia de una serie de pozas (gueltas en árabe), que se forman tras las lluvias monzónicas y que están conectadas entre sí a través de una red de cauces efímeros o permanentes que forman la Cuenca endorreica del Lago Gabou. Estos humedales, carentes de protección en la actualidad, forman además la base económica de los más de cuarenta mil habitantes del macizo, basada en la ganadería y en una precaria agricultura. Conocedor del potencial naturalístico de la zona, el Gobierno de la RIM encargó a nuestra ONG la preparación de una memoria para dar a conocer y conseguir la protección internacional de la zona en el marco de la Convención Ramsar de protección de humedales (UNESCO). El presente trabajo narra como la utilización de una especie focal, el cocodrilo del desierto, para proteger estos valiosos humedales podría ser compatible con el desarrollo de una actividad turística sostenible, basado en el turismo naturalístico y científico, que posibilite un mayor desarrollo a los habitantes del Tagant

Self-medication with oral contraceptives in the Urban District of Antananarivo

Background: Oral contraception is the second hormonal contraceptive method most used in the world. Currently, self-medication with oral contraceptives experienced resurgence, most often with no medical supervision. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of self-medication with oral contraceptives, identify the socio-economic status and identify the reasons why women aged 21 to 49 of the Urban District of Antananarivo (UDA) practice self-medication with oral contraceptives.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted, where an interviewer-administered questionnaire has been used to collect data. Targeted female respondents aged 21-49 were asked about their contraceptive use during the twelve months preceding the survey.Results: Self-medication prevalence rate is 59.1%, considering oral contraception users. Moreover, it is higher among married women, those aged <36, less educated and having more than two children. Financial problem, affordability of the pills, former use of pills and information by their surroundings are the reasons why women self-medicate. Women who received a medical prescription at the first take of the pills are more likely to presently practice self-medication.Conclusions: This study demonstrates the evidence of a high prevalence of self-medication in the UDA. Self-medication can be harmful: the fight against its risks should get reinforced

Unexpected Rift Valley Fever Outbreak, Northern Mauritania

During September–October 2010, an unprecedented outbreak of Rift Valley fever was reported in the northern Sahelian region of Mauritania after exceptionally heavy rainfall. Camels probably played a central role in the local amplification of the virus. We describe the main clinical signs (hemorrhagic fever, icterus, and nervous symptoms) observed during the outbreak

New avian paramyxoviruses type I strains identified in Africa provide new outcomes for phylogeny reconstruction and genotype classification

Newcastle disease (ND) is one of the most lethal diseases of poultry worldwide. It is caused by an avian paramyxovirus 1 that has high genomic diversity. In the framework of an international surveillance program launched in 2007, several thousand samples from domestic and wild birds in Africa were collected and analyzed. ND viruses (NDV) were detected and isolated in apparently healthy fowls and wild birds. However, two thirds of the isolates collected in this study were classified as virulent strains of NDV based on the molecular analysis of the fusion protein and experimental in vivo challenges with two representative isolates. Phylogenetic analysis based on the F and HN genes showed that isolates recovered from poultry in Mali and Ethiopia form new groups, herein proposed as genotypes XIV and sub-genotype VIf with reference to the new nomenclature described by Diel's group. In Madagascar, the circulation of NDV strains of genotype XI, originally reported elsewhere, is also confirmed. Full genome sequencing of five African isolates was generated and an extensive phylogeny reconstruction was carried out based on the nucleotide sequences. The evolutionary distances between groups and the specific amino acid signatures of each cluster allowed us to refine the genotype nomenclature. (Résumé d'auteur

Investigating avian influenza infection hotspots in old-world shorebirds

Heterogeneity in the transmission rates of pathogens across hosts or environments may produce disease hotspots, which are defined as specific sites, times or species associations in which the infection rate is consistently elevated. Hotspots for avian influenza virus (AIV) in wild birds are largely unstudied and poorly understood. A striking feature is the existence of a unique but consistent AIV hotspot in shorebirds (Charadriiformes) associated with a single species at a specific location and time (ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres at Delaware Bay, USA, in May). This unique case, though a valuable reference, limits our capacity to explore and understand the general properties of AIV hotspots in shorebirds. Unfortunately, relatively few shorebirds have been sampled outside Delaware Bay and they belong to only a few shorebird families; there also has been a lack of consistent oropharyngeal sampling as a complement to cloacal sampling. In this study we looked for AIV hotspots associated with other shorebird species and/or with some of the larger congregation sites of shorebirds in the old world. We assembled and analysed a regionally extensive dataset of AIV prevalence from 69 shorebird species sampled in 25 countries across Africa and Western Eurasia. Despite this diverse and extensive coverage we did not detect any new shorebird AIV hotspots. Neither large shorebird congregation sites nor the ruddy turnstone were consistently associated with AIV hotspots. We did, however, find a low but widespread circulation of AIV in shorebirds that contrast with the absence of AIV previously reported in shorebirds in Europe. A very high AIV antibody prevalence coupled to a low infection rate was found in both first-year and adult birds of two migratory sandpiper species, suggesting the potential existence of an AIV hotspot along their migratory flyway that is yet to be discovered